The masked man turned slightly toward Penny, still however watching the
others. He would ask later about the burial.
"How many of those other men are wanted by the law?"
"I don't know. I don't know but the whole pack of them are crooked. They
must be. If they weren't, they'd get out, like Yuma did."
"Yuma?"
"He tried to persuade me to leave here. I wish to Heaven I could have. I
thought I could depend on Uncle Bryant, but now--" Penny broke off in
doubt.
The Lone Ranger, realizing that the girl could add a great deal to his
understanding of events, pressed her for more details.
"There's time to talk later," she said.
"Talk now. Tell me more about this man, Yuma."
Penny explained how she had trusted her uncle in spite of all that had
been said, how she had tried to account for his unconcern in the face of
events, by thinking that his eyes must be failing. Yuma, she explained,
had tried to tell her that she was mistaken in her trust. Yuma had been
fired at by Bryant; had fought with him, and finally had left the Basin.
She explained that it was Bryant's belief in Mort's thin alibi for
murdering Rebecca that had finally showed her her mistake, and now the
clincher was the paper Bryant had left for her to sign.
The Lone Ranger broke in from time to time with questions that brought
out the story of Rebecca and the children upstairs. Penny told him that
she felt compelled to remain for the sake of the children until Wallie
returned. Gimlet, she said, was too old to take the responsibility.
"So you believe in Yuma?"
Penny nodded, her eyes bright with unshed tears.
"I--I must."
"The last time we met," the masked man said, "I offered you something
that you refused. I'm going to offer it again, and what I said then
still goes." He reached one hand into a pocket, then dropped a silver
bullet on the table. The men looked at it curiously. Penny glanced at
it, then at the steady, level eyes behind the mask. For a time she said
nothing. Then, "It means a lot to you to find out who killed those Texas
Rangers, doesn't it?"
The Lone Ranger nodded. "Please," he said, "pick up that bullet. You
might need it. Remember what I told you to do with it. You mentioned an
old man named Gimlet."
"Yes?"
"Gimlet is dead."
The announcement was an obvious surprise to everyone. And to Penny it
was much more. It was a severe shock.
"He was stabbed," the masked man explained. "I was with him when he died
in the bunkhouse."
"But what was he doing there? He slept in the house here."
"I don't know why he went to the bunkhouse, but that's where I found
him. He gave me the name of the man."
"_Who?_"
The Lone Ranger spoke slowly. "He named a fellow you mentioned a few
minutes ago. He said, 'Yuma.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account